On Monday 8 July 1895, 13-year-old Robert Coombes and his brother Nattie set out from their home in east London to watch a cricket match. Over the next ten days they spent extravagantly, visiting the theatre and eating out; their father had gone to sea the previous Friday, and nobody had seen their mother since. But when an awful smell arose from the boys' house, the police were called to investigate. The Wicked Boy is the fascinating true story of a murder, and also of its astonishing aftermath.'Her research is needle-sharp and her period detail richly atmospheric, but what is most heartening about this truly remarkable book is the story of real-life redemption that it brings to light' John Carey, Sunday Times'Gripping ... Summerscale is an exquisite storyteller' Daisy Goodwin, The Times